In common with aristocratic groups in all regions of western Europe in the twelfth century, the lay nobility of León and Castile constituted a power élite. Within the ranks of that élite, however, there existed men and women of very different conditions. At the very top of the social scale stood the magnates, the descendants of families of long-standing wealth, status and power. These were nobles of substantial means, having prodigious amounts of property, money, livestock and other valuables at their disposal. Some of this wealth they shared out among their faithful vassals and retainers, or else among the churches and monasteries whose prayers they so eagerly sought. Royal government could not have functioned without these magnates. The great nobles administered large areas of the realm on behalf of the crown; they performed valuable service as judges, diplomats and generals; they held important offices in the royal household; and their counsel and companionship were highly esteemed by the monarch. In return for this indispensable service, they were lavishly rewarded with titles, lordships, properties and money. Yet, even within the narrow circle of the magnates there were winners and losers: while some leading lay figures collaborated closely with the monarch in the government of the realm and enjoyed a considerable increase in their wealth and power as a result, others were ostracised from court, denied the benefits of royal patronage, or even banished from the kingdom altogether.